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writingstoriesinpajamas · 6 years ago

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Greyzone (1)

It’s finally here, the first part to Greyzone! I’ll aim to update with new parts/chapters every so often, we’re talking like one or two weeks depending on how busy I am. Anyway, enjoy!

-Tia

-She backed away but the mass lunged forward and she felt a rush of something flow through her. She felt it searing throughout her body, a burning coldness spreading into each limb and through her veins. She shuddered and tried to scream, but her mouth was clamped shut; it along with the rest of her muscles tensed completely against her will.-

Word Count: 1655

Theo flashed her ID badge to the gatekeeper and the iron-bar doors scraped open, then she scurried inside out of the rain as the gates slammed shut behind her. An officer approached, greeting her with familiarity, and took her for her security check. A walk through a metal detector, hands swabbed for traces of drugs and a thorough pat down were all that was required. This was her daily routine, and the security guard was pleasant enough to chat with, so despite what her friends always said about it being “so invasional” and that they’d “never cope with the pressure”, it wasn’t a bad way to start her morning.

But god, she needed a coffee. Once her check had finished she headed through to the staff sector of the building to the cafeteria on the top floor, the stairs sadly not getting any easier with each day she climbed them.

“Hey Theo, you’re early today,” Liz, the young barista commented as she reached the food bar. “Got something on?”

“Yes, actually,” She replied, digging change out of her pocket and setting it on the counter. “I thought if I started early then I could get off early and actually have time for a proper date with Dylan, so that’s the plan.”

“Ugh, you guys are so cute. I need a boyfriend,” Liz chuckled as she turned around to start making the coffee. Theo picked a sandwich out of the fridge and set it down on a tray.

“Yeah, well, it’s hard with a long-hour job like this. And we don’t live together, so that makes it even harder to see each other,” She sighed, “anyway. How are things at home? I never saw you yesterday.”

“So-so,” she replied. “Mum’s still throwing hissy fits if I mention dad, but it could be worse.”

“As I’ve said, you can always crash at mine if you need to,” she assured as she was handed her coffee. She paid for the sandwich and they kept chatting before she eventually said goodbye to Liz and headed to the locker room.

She spent the morning on patrol, walking the corridors of cells and ignoring catcalls and comments from the prisoners. It wasn’t the worst prison to work in, described by her other female coworkers as “probably the best”. The guys here were pretty tame and a few were apologetic of their cellmates. Some, usually the younger ones or those in for petty crimes such as theft or vandalism, were actually pretty fun to talk to. She had to be careful what she said, of course; the strict rules and guidelines she’d been given at the start of her placement were contained in an incredibly long word document, and “talking to the prisoners” had taken up nearly ten pages.

Today was quiet, too. No disturbances, no fighting or mischief. Theo was in a pretty good mood. She went around with the prisoners’ lunches at noon; a delightful slice of chicken and some mashed potatoes, Sunday special, before having her own lunch break back up in the cafeteria. Liz had been replaced by an older woman who didn’t talk as much and was kind of grumpy, so she sat alone by the windows and looked out across the city. From here she could see the harbour and the bay, the docks bursting with the colours of many dinghies and fishing boats.

She enjoyed watching, considering it one of her hobbies. She’d watch the people walk by in a shopping centre, she’d study pedestrians and peer into the car behind her at a traffic light. You could tell so much just by looking at someone, and this was probably one of the main reasons she’d aspired to be a detective since she was younger. There was no saying it couldn’t still happen; working in this prison was, to her, just a way of getting an idea of the types of people she would meet. She chatted with the officers that came in and asked them about their jobs and she was sure she’d go for it once this placement year was up.

She was broken out of her daze by her phone beeping at her; signifying the end of her lunch break. She tidied her table and headed back down to the jails, another quiet shift ahead. A new prisoner came in and she kept a watchful eye on him for most of the afternoon, but he seemed relatively tame and so she soon lost interest. The rest of the day slogged on until eventually, it neared four-thirty and she could finally head home.

Once her shift finished, Theo retrieved her coat and bag from the locker room and headed out of the prison. It felt strange leaving an hour early and decided that with the five o’clock rush in mind, she’d be better off skipping the bus and just walking back to her flat. She needed to grab a couple of things from the shop anyway.

It was still early January, and so the air was bitter and the sky was dark. No rain was forecasted for the evening, yet the sky was darkened further by black clouds looming overhead. Folding her arms across her chest she quickened her pace, she tried to map out the quickest route home via the shops. She could either cross through the park or just follow the street and cut through a couple alleys. She decided against the park route, due to the sheer volume of crimes committed in it after hours, and kept along the street, passing small stores closing up for the evening and weaving her way through other pedestrians on their ways home.

She slowed down as she reached the first alley she’d have to pass through; an awfully dark passage littered with bins and rubbish. It got colder as she entered, but she brushed this off as paranoia. This is the quickest route, she told herself. You’re not scared of alleys.

She weaved around boxes and black bags and knocked against the odd beer bottle, causing a gritty sound to echo against the walls. She fumbled in her pocket for her phone and turned on the torch, then rounded a corner that followed the adjacent building. She could hear something, but she wasn’t sure what it was. Probably rats; this place was filthy.

Just a gate left to pass through, and then she’d be out back into the warmth of the street lamps. With the limited reach of her phone's torch she could just make out the chain link fence ahead, but when she got closer it appeared padlocked shut. Cursing under her breath, she turned and hurried back the way she’d come, definitely not having time to pass the shops now. Just before she could round the corner again there was a large clatter behind her and she whisked around as one of the big commercial-use bins was knocked over. She froze, shining her torch to the source of the disturbance; nothing visible, but there was a low guttural snarling. She wasn’t taking this route home ever again.

Theo’s heart pounded as she slowly edged closer to the bin. She knew she was being reckless, but it could have been a stray dog and she was good with those. Something was there, and whatever it was she was about to find out. That something moved into view; a shifting black mass that seemed to have no physical properties. It looked like a hole in reality, with no light bouncing off it, just an endless and shapeless void in the air.

So, not a stray dog then.

She backed away but the mass lunged forward and she felt a rush of something flow through her. She felt it searing throughout her body, a burning coldness spreading into each limb and through her veins. She shuddered and tried to scream, but her mouth was clamped shut; it along with the rest of her muscles tensed completely against her will. And then… and then it was gone. All her fear and anxiety disappeared and… she was simply in the alley on her way home. She frowned at the mess in front of her and continued through the passage to the chain link fence, opening the gate (why did she get the feeling it had been locked?) and heading out into the street.

She checked her watch, no time to pass the shop now, and quickened her pace. She wouldn’t have much time to get ready after all, but she’d showered that morning and really just needed to get changed and put on a little makeup. She sent a text to Dylan anyway, just to let him know she might be a couple minutes late, and hurried along the street. The lights were brighter than usual and the cars drove past roaring with noise. She felt a little dizzy, but it was probably just exhaustion of having gotten up earlier than usual. She was pretty hungry too, so food would probably help.

She reached her apartment and fumbled around in her bag for her keys, peering through the dark. Her hands were numb with cold and she struggled to feel the metal, but eventually pulled them out and shakily put them into the lock. She didn’t feel right, and she thought about staying home, but if anything happened she’d be safe with Dylan; and anyway, they’d planned this for a while. Once inside she dumped her bag and coat by the door and headed through to her bedroom to get ready, sitting down onto the bed with a sigh. The dizziness seemed to have subsided, for the time being, so she changed into nicer clothes, put a little makeup on and scavenged for some cash to stick in her purse. She managed to finish getting ready just in time, and headed back out into the night, having no memory of the alleyway, or what lurked within.

#GREYZONE #tia's writing #fantasy #demons #possessions #writing #writeblr #new writeblr #part 1 #story #fantasystory #newstory

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